Working Waterfront

Feds ordered to re-work whale rules

In a major victory for Maine’s lobster industry, a federal appeals court in June ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to go back to the drawing board and re-work the most recent federal regulation to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. In its decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals… SEE MORE

Umpire Pete Rand poses on the Maine coast. PHOTO: SOPHIE PAYSON-RAND

Working Waterfront

The summer game, as played offshore

When my son was 8, he asked me to stop coaching him in baseball. I didn’t ask him why. Instead, I swallowed my pride and simply informed the head coach of his minor league team that I could no longer help out. The coach took it well. In fact, in… SEE MORE

A rendering of the apartment building planned for Peaks Island.

Working Waterfront

Portland to sell building to island group

An affordable housing advocacy group has unveiled renderings of a building with three apartments that it plans to have constructed and occupied by next June on Peaks Island. Home Start, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding the pool of affordable housing on Peaks, has entered into a purchase-and-sales agreement with the… SEE MORE

From left, Allison, Ben, and Beverly Edwards, who own and operate Schoppee Farm.

Working Waterfront

Machias is on the move

[caption id="attachment_36197" align="alignright" width="560"] Bill Kitchen, Machias town manager.[/caption] If you ask Bill Kitchen what’s going well in Machias, you’ll need to sit back because you’ll be listening for a while. Kitchen is a passionate booster for the shire town of Washington County. In fact, five years ago, during his… SEE MORE

The Grindle Point Lighthouse on Islesboro.

Working Waterfront

Grindle Point Lighthouse: A beacon still shining

From the top deck of the Margaret Chase Smith ferry, the first thing that can be seen approaching Islesboro is the Grindle Point Lighthouse. Standing at the northern edge of Gilkey Harbor and next to the ferry pen, the lighthouse greets residents and visitors alike to the island. [caption id="attachment_36164"… SEE MORE

Stephen Etnier’s “Inside Haskell’s” (1969), oil on canvas.

Working Waterfront

Stephen and David Etnier: A legacy of place

In his autobiography Overworked Guardian Angel, published posthumously in 2009, the painter Stephen Etnier (1903-1984) paid homage to the stretch of the Maine coast around South Harpswell where he lived and which he haunted for a good part of his life. This “series of coves and inlets with fingers of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Letters: ‘Cogent,’ public spaces, and fog

Cogent newspaper To the editor: I read virtually every word of the April issue of The Working Waterfront and am so impressed with the quality and pith of the contents. It bespeaks the breadth and depth of Maine life more cogently than any publication I’ve read—indigenous ones—since I’ve lived and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Here we go!’ time

In mid-March, the early afternoon sun was streaming through my kitchen window as I caught up with my friend Mary over a cup of tea. The warmth was appreciated but the angle of the sun meant “cozy time” would soon come to an end. “I’m not ready for winter to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The community born of kitchens

Kitchens make a house a home. Kitchens create community. Our island has at least ten non-domestic kitchens in public gathering places. Stoves, sinks, fridges, counters, pots and pans, coffee makers, mugs, dishes, and flatware are enlivened with good smells and conversation. We cluster up to exchange news and views, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The care that backs up caretaking

My husband Bill went off-island to visit family during Vinalhaven’s two-week March break, so naturally Penrose and I both got sick. Pen came down with it first, an upper-respiratory crud that had made the rounds through the high school before filtering down to the younger kids. She spent a delightful… SEE MORE